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Montag, 12. Oktober 2015

Changing your job – How often is often enough?

Working year in and year out for the same
company and taking on new and greater responsibility with every promotion –
what better way to show resilience, staying power and loyalty? Are employees
who quit their jobs, on the other hand, automatically considered to be
unreliable? If you are looking at your resume and pondering whether there are
too many or too few positions held in there, ponder no further – we have a few
things for you to consider!

As so many times in life, one rule applies here as well:
please don’t overdo it and change your job every few months. Then again,
“overdoing it” may mean different things at different stages of your career. At
the beginning – for recruiting specialists, this means the years between your
early twenties and early thirties – it is not only acceptable, but also
understandable that young employees who just have finished studying, are still
looking for the best match between their skills and the job market. They keep
their resumes always up to date and ready to be sent out, because the next big
career opportunity could wait behind any corner. After that though, you have to
be prepare really good arguments for yourself and your desired job change in
order to convince recruiters.

As a rule of thumb for the minimal duration of one job, you
can count three years. The explanation is very simple: this is the span that
bigger projects usually take to be completed. The first year is for getting to
know every aspect of the project, the second for carrying it out and a third to
leave your permanent mark in the company. After this period and all the results
that came with it, you can make a convincing case for why you are ready to take
on new responsibilities and broaden your horizons. Of course, this does not
mean that, in order to achieve a successful career, you must change jobs very
three years. Most of the time, you will end up receiving new career offers from
your own company, be it promotions or new areas of responsibility.

Should you be tempted to look for another job
simply out of frustration with your current one, we can only advise you to take
your time and consider everything carefully, so that you have a clear picture
about what is really bothering you. Otherwise, there is a real danger that you
will soon be just as frustrated with your new job. Also strongly consider
talking to your supervisor and finding a mutually beneficial solution,
especially if you have already worked for a few years at your company. A new
job in your old company – now that would be an ideal outcome!